All Blacks on guard as Ireland threaten their nine-year reign at top of world ranking

10:45, Oct 09 2018

The All Blacks will need to be on full guard to defend their ridiculously long reign at the top of the World Rugby rankings on their end of year tour.

If Steve Hansen's side are looking for an assignment to replicate next year's World Cup pressure in Japan, then retaining their No 1 ranking in November looks an ideal assignment.

Despite claiming another Rugby Championship the All Blacks are probably as vulnerable as they ever have been during their nine years at the top of World Rugby's official list.

The All Blacks got some much-needed breathing space back at the top of the world rugby rankings with their last-gasp win over the Springboks in Pretoria last weekend.

Joe Schmidt's Six Nations champions Ireland have a sniff of a chance of supplanting New Zealand if a couple of scenarios play out their way.

A year ago, New Zealand's lead at the top of the rankings was nearly five points over England. Now they are fewer than three in front of an impressive Ireland side who have won 19 of their last 23 tests, a run that includes clinching a rare series in Australia and defeating the All Blacks for the first time with a 40-29 victory in Chicago.

It takes an Einstein-like brain to get your head around how the complicate rankings system works. But a basic breakdown shows the All Blacks need to be on top of their game throughout their visit north.

For Ireland to get to No 1, they would need the All Blacks to drop a test against Australia in Tokyo or against England in London. They would then need to beat the All Blacks in Dublin on November 18.

All Blacks fans will scoff at the thought of their world champions dropping another two tests in a year when they have already been beaten at home by the Springboks.

But this tour is no cakewalk and the All Blacks have added to the pressures on themselves.

New Zealand will send 19 first-choice players to London in an advance party from Tokyo leaving what will be an inexperienced team to see off the Wallabies on neutral soil.

Surely even that will be enough to beat a wobbly Wallabies outfit? Think back to the eve of the 2011 World Cup when the All Blacks were tipped over by Australia 25-24 in Hong Kong in a dead rubber Bledisloe Cup battle en route to Europe.

What about Eddies Jones' England, a team and coach under building pressure?
Getting a core group of players in tune with British conditions early is smart thinking by Hansen. He knows there has never been an easy game at Twickenham and with more than five years since their last visit to England HQ, anticipation levels are ramping up with each day. The men in white will be up for this occasion.

As for Ireland, well, suffice to say the Chicago result has got the All Blacks permanently on notice now, especially after it came on the back of their previous meeting, a Dublin cliffhanger that saw Aaron Cruden having the luxury of retaking a missed sideline conversion to secure a 24-22 win.

Ireland play Italy and Argentina ahead of their November 18 clash with the All Blacks and wrap up their autumn schedule with a test against the United States the following week.

The latest rankings have just been released on the back of the Rugby Championship being completed.

The All Blacks gave themselves some breathing space with their dramatic last-minute 32-30 win over the Springboks in Pretoria last weekend.

That victory earned them a further 0.44 ranking points when a loss, that seemed so likely for much of a pulsating test, would have seen their rankings lead virtually evaporate.

As it turned out, the final two matches of the tournament had no bearing on the rankings standings.

The All Blacks remained No 1, South Africa stayed at No 5, while Australia's comeback away win over Argentina left both teams unchanged with the Wallabies at No 7 and the Pumas at No 9.

But things are certainly going to get interesting when the heavyweights from the two hemispheres collide over an enthralling four weeks in November.